Censorship, "Mental Illness" Overrun France

France is a country where so-called "anti-racist" organizations, heavily subsidized by the government, fight for the most part only a single "racism": "Islamophobia."

It is now a country where the only people allowed to speak freely of Islam to large audiences are those who describe it as a religion of peace and unlimited love.

People prosecuted and fined for uttering critical remarks on Islam, such as Christine Tasin, say out loud what thousands think without daring to speak.

Polls show that French citizens in ever-increasing numbers are concerned about the rising proportion of unintegrated Muslims in the country, the endless expansion of no-go zones, the increasing number of Islamic converts, and the "replacement" of the French people.

"Mental patients," screaming "Allahu Akbar," are storming France.

France is now a country where critical remarks on Islam are systematically banned from mainstream media and where any negative sentence about the Muslim religion leads to fines, payment of damages, and censorship.

And it is a country where so-called "anti-racist" organizations, heavily subsidized by the government, fight for the most part only a single "racism": "Islamophobia."

Words such as "Islamism" or "radical Islam" have disappeared from the vocabulary of journalists and politicians, and are replaced by fuzzy words: "radicalism" and "extremism".

The only people apparently allowed to speak freely of Islam to large audiences are those who describe it as a religion of peace and unlimited love.

Take, for example the recent case of Christine Tasin, a founder of Riposte Laïque [Secular Response].

She went to Belfort on October 15, 2013, to make a video news report on a temporary slaughterhouse installed for the Muslim feast day of Eid El Adha, which commemorates Ibrahim's obedience to Allah in offering to sacrifice his only son. Upon her arrival at the slaughterhouse, the manager asked her to leave. He also called her an "Islamophobic racist." She answered that she is, actually, Islamophobic, but not racist; and added that "Islam is rubbish." The verbal exchange was filmed. Muslim associations filed complaints against her.

Christine Tasin engages in a verbal exchange on October 15, 2013, which led to here being charged with the crime of making "statements likely to provoke rejection of Muslims."

On August 9, 2014, a court declared Tasin guilty of making "statements likely to provoke rejection of Muslims," and she was sentenced to a heavy fine of 3,000 euros ($3,700).

Tasin responded by saying that the court had acted as if it were an "Islamic court" and that it was showing "submission to Sharia." She appealed the judgment. The appeal judgment, delivered on December 18, constituted a repudiation of the first judgment; all charges against Christine Tasin were dropped.

The same day, a case against Marine Le Pen, president of the populist National Front party, concerning statements she made in 2010 about the "occupation" of the street by illegal Muslim prayers, was also dropped.

Some might think that these two decisions are encouraging signs, showing that the French justice is not completely muzzled and that some judges still maintain an independent spirit.

A broader look, however, calls for caution. In the previous months, many French who publicly criticized Islam and its consequences were severely condemned by France's justice system:

On June 5, Pierre Cassen and Pascal Hillout, two other members of Riposte Laïque, were sentenced to an extremely heavy fine of 21,200 euros ($26,000) for having written that "street prayers, veils and mosques" were "symbols of occupation and conquest."

On April 10, author Renaud Camus was fined 4,000 euros ($5,000) for having said in 2010 that Muslim culture was slowly "replacing" French culture.

Three years earlier, in February 2011, writer and political journalist Eric Zemmour was sentenced to a fine of 1,000 euros ($1,250) and a payment of 10,000 euros ($12,500) to various associations and leagues. He had said during a talk show that "the majority of drug dealers in France are black and Arab Muslims." The judges considered this was an "incitement to racial discrimination."

Zemmour is currently facing a media storm because of an interview he granted to an Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, in which he said that "Muslims have their own Civil Code, the Koran" and live "in neighborhoods that the French are gradually leaving." He added that France faced a "risk of chaos and civil war," and that Muslims might have to go. In writing his article, the Italian journalist used the word "deport". Zemmour did not use the word; he was, nevertheless, accused of having used it.

Countless complaints were filed against him. The main French "anti-racist" organizations asked all his employers to fire him. One of them, I-television (a rolling news TV channel), did so immediately.

The French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, called for street demonstrations against Zemmour. This is the first time in the history of modern France that an Interior Minister has publicly called for street demonstrations against a journalist.

Faced with incessant complaints and attacks, Riposte Laïque decided in March 2013 to relocate its operations and its website to Switzerland, where laws are less severe and where judges are less politicized than in France.

France is nonetheless the country where the two perpetrators of the worst anti-Semitic terrorist attacks committed in the name of radical Islam on European soil were born and raised: Mohamed Merah, the killer of three Jewish children and a rabbi in a schoolyard in Toulouse in March 2012, and Mehdi Nemmouche, the murderer of four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels in May 2014.

France is also the main European provider of jihadist recruits to the Islamic State. More than 1,000 French citizens are fighting in Syria and Iraq. Two of them have been spotted in a beheading video.

Polls show that French citizens in ever-increasing numbers are concerned about the rising proportion of unintegrated Muslims in the country, the endless expansion of no-go zones, the increasing number of Islamic converts, and the "replacement" of the French people.

Christine Tasin, Pierre Cassen, Pascal Hillout, Renaud Camus, and Eric Zemmour say out loud what thousands of people think without daring to speak.

Judicial harassment exacerbates frustration and leads many to believe that the mainstream media and leaders of major traditional parties lie about the facts and conceal the truth.

The National Front is now the top political party in France. Marine Le Pen is presently leading the polls for the 2017 presidential election. Her victory is unlikely, but it is no longer impossible. The "risk of chaos and civil war," evoked by Eric Zemmour, is constantly growing.

On December 20, Bertrand "Bilal" Nzohabonayo, walked into a police station in Joué-les-Tours, in the Loire Valley, and, screaming "Allahu Akbar" ["Allah is Greater"], stabbed three police officers. He was then shot and killed. The police and media said immediately that he was a not an Islamist but a "mental patient," although they later admitted that he seemed to be a supporter of the Islamic State.

On December 21, another man (no word yet on his identity), also screaming "Allahu Akbar," drove his car into a crowd in Dijon, and was then captured by police. The police and the media also said that he was a "mental patient," but they admitted he has family ties in North Africa.

On December 22, a third man, also screaming "Allahu Akbar" ploughed his van into a Christmas market in Nantes. He then stabbed himself, and is in hospital. The police and the media said that he was a "mental patient." He will be sent to an insane asylum.

No one knows how many "mental patients" are ready to act and scream "Allahu Akbar" in France. Police unions have said that if too many "mental patients" decided to act, the police would not able to protect the population. They added that there were not even enough police to protect police officers likely to be attacked.

Mental patients, screaming "Allahu Akbar," are storming France.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, "We have never faced such a danger." He has not defined the danger. He decided to send a thousand soldiers to patrol the streets. He did not say if they were supposed to fight mental illness.

On December 23, a fourth man screaming "Allahu Akbar" was arrested for "violent behavior" in the city of Le Mans. He was sent directly to a psychiatrist, of course. He is a "mental patient." Authorities strangely said he might be "contagious."

Published at the initiative of the Legal Project of the Middle East Forum.

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36 Reader Comments

Yael F. • Jan 21, 2015 at 07:00

It's not a problem of mental illness, it' s a problem with political Islam who isn't classified in the DSM. The real illness is the lies of politicans about the problem and the denial of it for decades. Brainwashing of fanatics is unfortunately illegal.

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Catherine Dunand-Mellion • Jan 9, 2015 at 11:22

As I was reading Guy Millière's informative and witty article, I could not help but compare its content as far as the censorship and freedom of expression are concerned to a time in France when "la liberté d'expression" was strictly controlled and censored. I am referring to German Occupation whose administration forbade any writing, information and personal expression that did not meet the absolute criteria of the occupier: informing the general population of all German wrongdoings and/or simple opposition of their occupation.

Most people were too afraid to say a simple word that may be taken the wrong way. In that respect Germany succeeded to inspire great fear that kept people from being free. Of course the manner in which the offender was punished was quite different, but to some extent when I read that the journalist Eric Zemmour was fined for commenting on what I think was not the fruit of vindication but just a plain objective information, I wonder with fear how far our government is going to permit this. All these journalists or activists say, and I cite Millière, out loud what people think and dare not express. This is not only outrageous but very sad and it seems indeed that we are slowly becoming a nation of passive people who dare not say a word fearing to be seen as racist.

What become of our Liberty that we thought so much to gain in the 18 century?To forbid free speech is to deny any being pride and dignity.

During the German Occupation, many great writers, literary critics and scholars such as Jean Ghéhenno, refused to write for any papers they knew would censored their thoughts. Ghéhenno expressed in his book "Diary of the dark years 1940-1944" his profound disarray and disgust for people who accepted their suppression of freedom of speech. Writers who continued to publish throughout the occupation such as André Gide, Sacha Guitry and Colette, wrote articles that appealed to the occupiers. They were called "Literary Collaborators".

As a French citizen, I am choked to see that most accept this censorship and those who don't are "punished".Finally, what message our Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, was sending to the population in calling a demonstration against Zemmour? Giving more power to a segment of our population that has already empowered themselves?

I understand that a population controlled by a criminal occupier chose silence over freedom of expression, but I cannot understand nor respect a population that allows to be controlled when there is no need to be.

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Brian O'Neill • Jan 4, 2015 at 15:52

Discrimination is a two way street and if France's Judicial system is clamping down on "Islamophobia," why are they not clamping down on "anti-Christian" rhetoric by Muslim extremist. This must also be discrimination.

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Penelope Bell • Jan 3, 2015 at 10:13

The weak and frightened cream puff politicians and Judiciary must accept full responsibility for bowing to the pressure of minority groups behind the scourge of unbalanced and so-called social justice, humanitarian, free speech and equality regulations, which have crept into legislation and skewed a once balanced society and its moral ethos over recent decades.

All of the incidents described in the above article are directly attributable to such skewed values, to the point of losing their purpose and moral compass, inevitably leading to civil war in Europe between Western values and Sharia law, aka radical Islam.

The West is at war with Islam and the sooner Western governments acknowledge and confront this fact the better. Pretending that we are not is critically lethal to our Western culture. When civil war does erupt, which is inevitable and its causes analysed, when the inexorable creep of carnage becomes undeniable at the hands of Sharia Law, with Western values compelled to give way to the values of the Koran, how will our present day politicians, media and judiciary be judged? How will they go down in our history books? Certainly not as heroes.

They will be recorded as complicit perpetrators of the demise of the West, the very intent of Islam. However, the cream puff politicians responsible, together with a weak judiciary are not solely to blame. The leftist socialist ethos, rife in Western education systems, must also accept responsibility for the twisted ethos of today's generations younger than 50 years, who are ignorant of and have no understanding of the destruction that their so-called social, humanitarian, free-speaking and equality-driven "consciences" are ultimately wreaking upon the Western culture.

A purging of Western education systems, of political, legal and media establishments is imperative to rid Western culture and institutional systems of this 'fake humanitarianism', before balanced thinking can become, once more, the flagship of our Western culture and institutions - but I fear it is already too late.

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Nickname • Jan 2, 2015 at 19:25

Then the people that want this should be thrown in jail also for provoking the provokers of provoking anti-Moslem statements!

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Henry Law • Jan 2, 2015 at 15:42

If people are converting to Islam, how can it be a race and how can criticism of Islam be racist?

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Donald Long • Jan 2, 2015 at 10:08

Based on the police and media classifications I guess it should be politically correct to say that Islam produces mental illness.

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steven L • Jan 1, 2015 at 22:51

The socialists of Europe so attached to their antisemitism found their enslavement to Islamists as a way out.

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Buzz of the Orient steven L • Jan 6, 2015 at 19:24

How do you define Socialism? I'm a Canadian and proud of our universal health care system, yet I know that Americans consider that "pinko". Any services that are paid for with public taxes would be IMO considered Socialism, including any form of social welfare net, public schools, libraries, city infrastructure, police and firemen, highways, etc etc etc. If someone is dead set against Socialism they should build themselves a cabin in the woods and stay there.

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Niight and Day • Jan 1, 2015 at 20:10

France is not alone in trying to dissimulate the reality known to most of their public - Britain has adopted the same strategy, both probably with the twin aims of pacifying their growing Muslim populations and at the same time, trying not to exacerbate further hostile feelings amongst the "natives".
It seems to also have become a policy adopted in certain sections of the US media, where just this afternoon, on an NPR news bulletin, they reported the numbers of cars "traditionally" torched in France over the New Year had dropped by 12% to a figure of 1,067. They referred to the perpetrators simply as "revellers", as if it were a normal, acceptable activity for boisterous youth to engage in. However, the whole of France knows these revellers to be mostly disgruntled young Muslims.

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cranky.white.woman • Jan 1, 2015 at 18:51

The only people who seem to be suffering from any sort of mental illness are the so-called "leaders" who refuse to do anything about the REAL problem, and choose to punish those with the balls to speak out against this garbage.

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Penelope Bell cranky.white.woman • Jan 17, 2015 at 05:50

There are two primary reasons for why the European Politicians sit back and look down on all of this without implementing any challenges to it.

The political parties know that the Muslim immigrants vote for the socialist left wing ideologue from these No Go Zones in blocs - as ordered by the Imams, so they pander to that vote. Then there are those who would like to do something, but are afraid that it is suicidal - given the violent reprisal history of Muslim youths wreaking carnage and destruction on the streets in reply to any attempt to curtail or control Muslim activity and immigration.

Also the press is complicit and will launch a frenzy of press playing out the 'victim' card bleated by the minority groups. To take any action will certainly only generate a very unpleasant experience for the politicians on the other end of Muslim reprisals, so it is easier to do nothing.

In the long term, it can only lead to Muslim dominance, Muslim majority populations and ultimately Sharia Law. Where will the civil libertarians so concerned about their civil rights, civil liberties and freedoms run to then, under the Police States of Sharia Law? I have never seen such a self-obsessed short-sighted era in politics in my entire life and that is more than several decades.

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arthur • Jan 1, 2015 at 17:52

It has spread to the politicians and the Courts. The cowardice of French politicians serves to empower the Islamists and guarantee violence. The Islamists have been very forthcoming and clear that they WILL impose sharia law on France and Europe and replace the French and European culture with Muslim culture

For me, this is the most important piece of information in the article. The rise of the National Front is due to two specific phenomena: the negative influence of the EU, and Islam. Since both these are fundamentally anti-democratic and cannot change their nature, the more they impinge upon the will of the French people, the more people will oppose them. This is inevitable and is already happening throughout Europe. The era of political correctness and enforced multiculturalism is finally coming to an end.

Based on the increasing frequency of this classification for murderers in France, one would think so.

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Bob Smith • Jan 1, 2015 at 11:55

The French Islamic pressure cooker will eventually blow.

The only question is how bad with the blast be.

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DAVID M. • Jan 1, 2015 at 11:52

The connection between France's "Mental Patients" who all scream "Allahu Akbar" when they perpetrate a crime of murder or assault brings to mindthe USA's own Major N. Hasan who shot some 30+ American soldiers at Ft. Hood while also screaming "Allahu Akbar".

The US Army is charging him under some workplace violence statute, not Islamist Terrorism because we, like the French, don't want to recognize reality until its too late!

If France doesn't face its own ugly reality it may become the the First European Nation to fall victim to Islamicization!!

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Carl • Jan 1, 2015 at 11:51

In my opinion, France has ceased to be an ally of the USA. They never were an ally of Israel. These days they seem to be more aligned with China and Russia and any middle east country that can fatten their coffers. The Muslims have gained a strong foothold in both France and Britain and it may not be reversable without drastic measures. Both countries fully deserve the fates that await them.

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cathy evans • Jan 1, 2015 at 11:50

As I was reading this article I was struck by the fact that by changing a few words in this article, we can apply this to what's happening in the good 'ole USA. This past summer, what remains of our Texas/Mexico border, was once again assaulted by the influx of thousands of "undocumented" immigrants. They were portrayed by national media as poor refugee children seeking to be united with relatives already in the US. If you live in Texas, you KNOW the story that was spun was so far from the truth of the situation. They were actually, well dressed, men, women & very few children. They were from many other countries other than the "impoverished" Central/South American countries the media attempted to make the American public believe. Let your imagination run wild as to the countries of origin & you will be correct. So let's go back to paragraph 4 in this article & change a few words.......

Polls show that French (AMERICAN) citizens in ever-increasing numbers are concerned about the rising proportion of unintegrated Muslims (UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS), in the country, the endless expansion of no-go zones, the increasing number of Islamic converts & the "replacement" of the French (AMERICAN) people.
So, moral of the story......America, wake up! It is happening here & approved of by officials in the highest offices of the US government, Democrat & Republican. Forewarned is forearmed.

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Jesse Vorst • Jan 1, 2015 at 11:46

Occasionally, religious dogmatism/fanaticism resembles the political fundamentalism of fascism and communism: "We are the good guys, you are the bad ones and need to be oppressed - if not exterminated." Such intolerance cannot be tolerated in a free and democratic society (excuse the necessary contradiction).Signed me,Holocaust survivor

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J.Allen • Jan 1, 2015 at 11:12

Have all the water wells in France become contaminated with stupid?

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Desh • Jan 1, 2015 at 09:58

Radicals of any religion are of course mentally sick. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, for his act of provoking radicals, is no different from those suffering from this illness. French laws & judges must take actions against this fatal illness before entire France gets infected with this incurable infection.

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judithg • Jan 1, 2015 at 09:57

It is a mental asylum. Where else would a populace have lap danced the nazis and encouraged and embraced these Islamist fascists. French "intellectuals" have always been a fetid swamp of Jew hatred. And, the other mental cases.

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Marvin Keith • Jan 1, 2015 at 09:50

The title, "Censorship, Mental Illness Overrun France", deftly conceals tyranny and psychological conditioning (aka brainwashing) behind a veil of religion. Politicians and jurists, hobbled by this classification are desperate to prevent varieties of outrageous and lethal behavior upon French citizens by a tiny fraction of this enormous flock. Does anyone know what portion of this large group are terrified members trapped into the appearance of membership by circumstance and by fear of these brainwashed individuals? Surely a percent greater than 90. What can be done to help these prisoners of faith to escape?

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T. Anidjar • Jan 1, 2015 at 09:41

I wonder what would happen if people of other faiths went to live in a mostly Muslim nation and became 5% or more of their population and started to "demand" their rights under their beliefs? Would the government of a majority Muslim nation do to its citizens what the French government and other European nations are doing? What would happen to these people? Would they be protected? Would they be killed? Would they be deported? Would they be put in jail and tortured? How do people of other faiths live in the majority populated Muslim nations?

We see what IS does to Christians and other people that are not like them. The women are raped, killed, or sold into slavery - sexual or otherwise. The boys are taught to kill from a young age, most of them orphaned by the group. Men are killed by the hundreds and thousands. There is no freedom to anyone but the perpetrators.

Pastor Saed Abedini is in an Iranian prison being tortured and denied freedom because he is a Christian. Like one radical Muslim said in the UK, we are going to turn Buckingham Palace into a huge mosque (a sign of conquest), the Queen will either have to convert, pay a tax, or leave.

Mohammad's successors were not successful in taking over Europe by the sword and the Koran, so his followers are doing a better job by having lots of offspring and "demanding" their rights. The UK already allows some Sharia Law to be applied to Muslims. Instead of the immigrants and people of the Muslim faith obeying the laws of the land, they are allowing Muslims to change their laws to be the law of their land. Soon the law of the UK will be Sharia Law, and it will be too late to do anything to reverse it.

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Misha • Jan 1, 2015 at 09:39

I would say the French authorities are not wrong to come down on people who criticize Islam. We all know the power of words and these can get out of hand very quickly, leading to results no one wants. There is a way to criticize what you don't like, but you have to do it carefully, without insulting or slandering the other side, and keeping it focused on the issues.

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Ephesian • Jan 1, 2015 at 08:16

The situation in France is despicable, that the thought and speech police even exist. Lose your right to free speech and that is the end of all freedoms. France is not the only country guilty of this either and the governments of various countries are guilty of betraying their own people. Christianity is mocked often, and apparently this is ok, but oooh, do not criticise Islam. Either stand up for your freedoms or stand for anything and everything. Shameful.

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saul hyman • Jan 1, 2015 at 07:19

You don't have to be insane to be an Islamist but it sure helps.

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Charles Lutz saul hyman • Jan 1, 2015 at 16:48

As I wrote elsewhere, "La France est foutue" and I will never go back to my country of birth. Even for a short visit. But, my question is: Why would the ruling class be so fiercely determined to plunge the country into a civil war?
However, can North America be far behind?Counting our blessings: at least in Canada (and even more so in the US) we are armed and ready to die fighting.

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jerry michelson saul hyman • Jan 3, 2015 at 06:35

Criminalisation of political views via psychiatry was one of the chosen methods employed by the putrefying Soviet regime in the 60s and 70s to deal with dissidents. That a western democratic country would resort to this Stalinoid procedure is appalling. That this country happens to be France, with its long traditions of communist agitprop and organizing, is not surprising. Pity that those folks (the elites who muzzle the populace) in many European countries will be held to account by the right-wing and not the centrists who should have been at the head of this movement.

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Malcolm • Jan 1, 2015 at 07:02

Police spokespersons who habitually characterize Islamic behavior as "mental illness" could themselves be seen as violating the French law.

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Clem Alford Malcolm • Jan 1, 2015 at 12:27

This PCism is crazy. The lunatics have taken over the asylum!!

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Lorraine Fox Malcolm • Jan 1, 2015 at 21:37

The leaders of France have no backbone. It will come back to haunt them.

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Praveen Pillai Malcolm • Jan 1, 2015 at 22:24

This symptom, which you term as "mental illness", in India, the Leftists call it "secularism". Yes it is definitely "contagious" and its outbreak can be traced to Arabia.

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Aridaman Malcolm • Jan 3, 2015 at 10:16

Before pronouncing those shouting "allahu akbar" while violently attacking the police officers and others as "mental patients", did the French police have them medically examined where they were found as such? If not, the officers ought to be prosecuted for lying to the people.

Lies uttered in cowardly pursuit of political correctness are going to cost heavily to France!

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Buzz of the Orient • Jan 1, 2015 at 06:33

There is no need to resurrect the guillotine. Those who criticise Islam will, if the present direction of French society continues, most likely end up beheaded by sword, which appears to be the capital punishment of choice for the growing power of Islam in France.